The attacks began early Tuesday morning in the Clarks Pond-Western Avenue areas of the city.

A contractor was sitting in his truck in a Home Depot parking lot at about 6 a.m. when a fox jumped through a window and bit him on the arm, he said. Moments later, a jogger emerged from the Clarks Pond Trail saying he was attacked.

Then two people who were camping in the woods called police to say they too were bitten by a fox.

Nicky Burke and her co-worker Joe Gagnon said they were able to outfox the animal during a noontime encounter along Clarks Pond Trail on Monday.

“The fox came running out here,” Burke said. “We were talking and walking down the path and then he stood here. He just looked at us and then he continued to go to the bush right there. And all of the sudden he looked at us and started chasing us really fast, and he continued to chase us until the clearing, until [Gagnon] grabbed a stick.”

“I picked up the stick, hit the ground, he went off the trail about 10 yards down,” Gagnon said.

“It’s a little shocking. It’s surprising. We thought it might be rabid or it was protecting its babies, but,” Burke said.

The fox was also spotted in the driveway of WEX and in the parking lot of VNA Home Health off Foden Road, which means the fox must have crossed busy Western Avenue.

“I pulled in this morning about 8:30 and there were about four cruisers running around the parking lot looking. I was wondering what was going on,” said Phyllis Paterson of VNA Home Health.

At 12:30 p.m., the owner of Rocky Coast Acupuncture at 210 Western Ave. became the fox’s fifth and final victim. Co-workers said Jason Stein got out of his car and was chased by a fox trying to bite at his feet. They said Stein ran for the office entrance, where he was able to trap the animal in the vestibule.

South Portland’s animal control officer hooked the fox and carried it to the woods, where it was shot and killed.

Police said the fox's remains were taken to Augusta for testing and came back positive for rabies on Wednesday.

Police said the five people who were attacked have been notified about the test results.

Dr. Stephen Sears, the state's epidemiologist said the victims who were exposed to the rabid fox will undergo a series of four shots over the next two weeks.

If gone untreated, rabies can be deadly.

This marks 31 animals that have tested positive for rabies so far this year, Sears said.

More than 200 animals have been tested.

Sears said that is about average when it comes to the number of rabies cases seen in the state.

Photos: Rabid fox killed in South Portland

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Jim Keithley

Police said at 6 a.m., a contract worker for Home Depot reported being attacked by a fox as he sat in his truck. Police said the man told them the fox jumped through the open window of his truck and bit him on the arm.

ANIMAP A SUSPECTED "RABID FOX" ATTACKS áFIVEá PEOPLE IN THE "CLARKS POND- WESTERN AVENUE" AREAS OF SOUTH PORTLAND. GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US, I'M TRACY SABOL. THE WILD ANIMAL WENT ON A SIX-AND-A- HALF HOUR RAMPAGE, ACTUALLY BITING SEVERAL PEOPLE BEFORE AN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER CAPTURED AND KILLED IT. W-M-T-W NEWS 8'S JIM KEITHLEY IS LIVE IN SOUTH PORTLAND WHERE THE ATTACKS BEGAN EARLY THIS MORNING. JIM?? WE'RE IN THE SIDE PARKING LOT OF HOME DEPOT - THIS IS WHERE A CONTRACTOR WAS SITTING IN HIS TRUCK ABOUT 6 THIS MORNING AND SAID A FOX JUMPED THROUGH THE WINDOW AND BIT HIM IN THE ARM. MOMENTS LATER A JOGGER EMERGED FROM THE "CLARKS POND TRAIL" SAYING HE WAS ATTACKED. AND THEN TWO PEOPLE WHO WERE CAMPING IN THE WOODS CALLED POLICE TO SAY THEY TOO WERE ATTACKED AND BITTEN BY A FOX, AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW THIS ALL ENDED. "The fox came running out here. We were talking and walking down the path and then he stood here, he just looked at us and then he continued to go to the bush right here." NICKY BURKE AND HER CO-WORKER JOE GAGNON SAY THEY WERE ABLE TO OUTFOX A SUSPECTED RABID FOX DURING A NOONTIME ENCOUNTER ALONG THE CLARKS POND TRAIL - YESTERDAY. "And all of the sudden he looked at us and started chasing us really fast and he continued to chase us until the clearing, until he grabbed a stick. "I picked up the stick, hit the ground, he went off the trail about ten yards down." "It's a little shocking. It's surprising. We thought it might be rabid or it was protecting its babies, but." AFTER THE EARLY MORNING ATTACKS TODAY NEAR THE SAME TRAIL AND IN THE HOME DEPOT PARKING LOT - THE FOX WAS SPOTTED AGAIN IN THE DRIVEWAY OF WEX, AND IN THE PARKING LOT OF "V-N-A HOME HEALTH" OFF FODEN ROAD - WHICH MEANS THE FOX MUST HAVE CROSSED BUSY WESTERN AVENUE. "I pulled in this morning about 8:30 and there were about four cruisers running around the parking lot looking. I was wondering what was going on." AT 12:30 THE OWNER OF "ROCKY COAST ACUPUNCTURE" LOCATED AT 210 WESTERN AVENUE - WOULD BE THE FIFTH AND FINAL VICTIM - CO-WORKERS SAID JASON STEIN GOT OUT OF HIS CAR AND WAS CHASED BY A FOX TRYING TO BITE AT HIS FEET. CO-WORKERS SAID STEIN RAN FOR THE CO-WORKERS SAID STEIN RAN FOR THE OFFICE ENTRANCE WAY WHERE HE WAS ABLE TO TRAP THE ANIMAL IN THE VESTIBULE..YOU CAN SEE WHAT A MESS IT MADE. SOUTH PORTLAND'S ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER ARRIVED HOOKED THE WILD ANIMAL AND CARRIED IT TO THE WOODS WHERE IT WAS SHOT AND KILLED. SOUTH PORTLAND POLICE SAID THE FOX WAS TAKEN TO A STATE LAB IN AUGUSTA TO BE TESTED FOR RABIES. RESULTS COULD COME WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. POLICE TOLD ALL OF THOSE FIVE PEOPLE WHO WERE ATTACKED TO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. IF THE ANIMAL WAS INDEED RABID, THOSE FIVE VICTIMS WILL HAVE TO ENDURE RABIES SHOTS. LIVE IN SOUTH PORTLAND JIM KEITHLEY WMTW NEWS 8. THIS MORNING'S ATTACKS COME JUST A DAY áAFTERá THE "MAINE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL" ISSUED ITS QUARTERLY UPDATE ON RABID ANIMALS HERE IN MAINE. RABIES IS SPREAD WHEN THE VIRUS GOES INTO BITE WOUNDS AND OPEN CUTS IN SKIN, GENERALLY FROM AN INFECTED ANIMAL'S SALIVA. FROM APRIL TO LATE LAST MONTH, THERE WERE á16á CONFIRMED CASES OF RABIES IN ANIMALS IN MAINE. THE MOST.. FOUR CASES IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY. SO FAR THIS YEAR, MAINE HAS SEEN A áTOTALá OF 28 CONFIRMED CASES OF RABIES. WE'RE FOLLOWING A DEVELOPING STORY